Victor,
9/11 could end up being the catalyst that starts to clean up the Middle East. Saddam out, Arafat effectively out and other regimes are going to start figuring out that their days may be numbered too unless they change some things.
Your comments regarding failed Arab societies reminds me of a Tom Friedman article. Basically, his point was based on the idea that you must have a pluralistic society in order to make the society work.
The Israel/Palestine issue is a microcosm of the entire problem with the Middle East. Arabs don't want non-Muslims on holy land. This is ass-backwards and it is the kind of thinking that is the reason the region is failing.
If you don't have a 'pluralism of people' (tolerance), you will not have a 'pluralism of ideas' (diversity). There is no room for free thinking in the Middle East. So long as these regions stay intolerant, the region will remain alienated from the rest of the world and fall further and further behind the West.
The Arab world has this perception of itself that differs from the reality of the massive failure that it is. They blame the Jews, they blame the Americans. The fact is, that region has a great history but has spent all their efforts over the last 50 years on getting the Jews out of the Middle East.
Getting rid of the police-state/repressive regimes are the answer. We can no longer passively support such repressive regimes, which are the reason so many young Arabs are angry and militant. Look at Mohammed Atta, an educated middle class kid who exceled in school but had no opportunity in the failed economy that is Egypt. He became angry and militant and was a classic recruit for Al Qaeda.
I sure hope some charismatic leader can lead Islam out of its downward spiral. Islam is a peaceful religion that has been hijacked by a bunch of angry thugs. This idea that Islam is the perfect religion and nobody else is worthy is similar to Hitler's view that White Germans are the perfect race. It blows me away, as someone who grew up in California, that this is still such a problem in the world. We have so much expression of freedoms and demonstrations here that it gets annoying.
As Friedman says, we need a revolution within the Arab world. Until there is, our civilizations are going to be at odds.
My point was that this Israel issue is the first of many tests for the Middle East. When Arabs can live next door to Jews in peace, with normal trade and embassies in Jerusalem, then we will know that the Middle East may have turned the corner. Until then, the region has no chance. So long as the Middle East is a failed region, we will not have security in the US. |
